Overview:In 2008, with Bill Richardson (D) as
governor, Obama won the state's five electoral votes with a
15-percentage point margin. In 2010, New Mexicans elected the
Republican, Susana Martinez
as governor. Was the political terrain shifting?The state's Hispanic population continued
to grow; according to the Census Bureau in 2011, 46.7% of the
population was of Hispanic or Latino origin. New Mexico was one of thirteen states
where the RNC established a Victory organization, but by Sept. 20 they
pulled several staff out (reported by CNN +).
The
presidential
campaign in New
Mexico turned out to be relatively quiet. Obama won with a
plurality of 79,547 votes (10.15 percentage points). None of the
Democratic principals visited during the general election period.
Mitt Romney did an event at an
oilfield business in Hobbs on Aug. 23. Gary Johnson did a
couple of events in Albuquerque on Oct. 9, and he and running mate Jim
Gray held their Election Night party there. Johnson only managed
3.54% of the vote in his home state.Obama
| RomneyBALLOT
[PDF]

Parties had the option of
selecting
delegates
through a presidential preference primary held on the same date as the
state primary (in June) or "in accordance with the selection procedure"
of the party.

2004
OverviewNew Mexico flipped to
Bush.
The state, which in 2000 went to Gore with the narrowest vote margin,
was
again close; in the end Bush won with a plurality of 5,988 votes (0.79
percentage points). Bush carried 21 counties to 12 for Kerry (results
by
county). New Mexico Democratic Party state chair John
V. Wertheim stated, "We got crushed in Southeast New Mexico and in the
Four Corners area."General
Election DetailsKerry/Allies
|
Bush-Cheney
'04

2000
OverviewProblems with the
count
in Bernalillo County left the outcome in New Mexico uncertain for days
after the election, but Gore ultimately won the state's five electoral
votes by a razor thin margin of 366 votes (0.06 percentage
points).
Bush carried 20 counties to 13 for Gore.General
Election Activity

Although
many news accounts attributed the Bernalillo counting problem to a
"software
glitch," in fact an administrative failure was to blame: the county
clerk's
office did not run the standard logic and accuracy test on the voting
machines
before the election. The problem became apparent on Election
Night,
and the clerk's office withdrew about 67,000 early vote and absentee
ballots
from the tally. On Nov. 9, workers in a warehouse in Albuquerque
began the recount, hand-feeding the ballots into the voting
machines.
By Nov. 11, Bush had gained a statewide lead of 17 votes, but some
emergency
ballots remained to be counted and totals were still fluctuating.
The State Canvassing Board finalized Gore as the winner with a
plurality
of 366 votes on Nov. 29.